Bitcoin briefly climbed $116K on Monday before retracing its steps back near $115K.

But Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and CIO of Maelstrom, says investors should stop obsessing over BTCs short-term price movements and instead focus on the broader forces that he believes will drive the cryptocurrency to record levels.

Liquidity Flood Ahead?

In a recent interview with Kyle Chassé, Hayes dismissed the popular notion of a rigid four-year cycle in Bitcoins price, and instead argued that macroeconomic liquidity will dictate the next leg of the bull market. He pointed to governments across the world from the Federal Reserve to the European Central Bank as being far from done with aggressive monetary expansion.

While speaking to Chassé, Hayes said that policymakers will continue to print money and pursue fiscal stimulus as tools to manage political and economic instability, particularly as geopolitical tensions rise and the unipolar world order fades. He also said that politics in the United States could add fuel to this trend, as major spending programs are expected in President Donald Trumps second term, especially from mid-2026 onward.

Such policies, according to Hayes, will provide fertile ground for both equities and cryptocurrencies, and position Bitcoin as the faster horse compared to traditional assets. Addressing frustrations from new Bitcoin buyers asking why the asset hasnt yet reached $150,000, the BitMEX co-founder said the expectation of instant riches is misplaced.

He even compared Bitcoins long-term performance against stocks, real estate, and even gold, and explained that while US equities may be up in dollar terms, they have not recovered when measured against gold since the 2008 financial crisis, and when compared against Bitcoin, they hardly register.

$250K Target Still Intact

For Hayes, the real advantage lies in compounding outperformance over years rather than speculative short-term bets. He projected that Bitcoin could still climb to record highs, reiterating a previous forecast of $250,000 in 2025.

Though he acknowledged risks may eventually emerge as liquidity peaks, Hayes maintained that the market is still far from the blow-off top. The Maelstrom exec went on to say that patience is crucial to benefiting from Bitcoins role as the ultimate hedge against currency debasement.